The JCVD send-off

Duana. I'm imploring for your help (pretty please!). We're Mexican but my first son (18 months) was born in the US. His name is Diego, last name C------. My husband and I loved it! the length, that it's easy to pronounce in both Spanish and English and the general vibe of it. This time around we're not finding out if we're having a boy or girl but options are: Dario, Javier. For girl: Eugenia, Maria, Estella, Ingrid. what do you think?? We prefer traditional over fancy schmancy.

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Okay. Traditional over schmancy we can do, but I notice you also like names that are a bit unusual today – like might have been common for their grandparents. I’m on board.

One thing I’ve learned in this line of work of mine is that parents tend to name their children similarly. I know a Michael and Michelle, and I bet you do too. Name endings or beginnings – everyone’s susceptible to something. So I have to admit that Dario and Diego sound pretty similar. It could work, but kind of if they’re your only two children. If you later have a daughter and she’s Ingrid? Diego and Dario and…Ingrid? It’s kind of not the same. So that choice is only a choice if they’re a pair. Unless you know about D names with an o that I don’t.

Also, I love love Javier. And Jorge. Any interest in Jorge? I’ve also always been interested in Fabian. I know it’s not right for some, but I can’t shake how nice and unusual it sounds. Fabian! But maybe that’s fancy schmancy?

As for your girls – I love every last one of them. But because people are annoying, there may be more mitigating factors with them. I actually just got distracted wondering if this is a gender thing because I don’t think this happens as much with boys. For example, love Estella, but depending where you live, people will assume it’s just “Stella” or “Estelle”, especially when she says it in her baby voice. But how come nobody does that to boys? Is it because boys’ names are easier to assume, because there are fewer variations?

Similarly, I really do love Eugenia but be prepared to explain it over and over, and eventually, to accept maybe a less than perfect pronunciation. I know that’s awful, but it can happen. Sometimes you’re not there to correct people, and suddenly your daughter is “Jeannie”. It’s the same reason I don’t want to suggest Paula. The actual beautiful pronunciation of the name, which is really “Paola” is really lost when North Americans get at it: “Polla”. I have to say that even though I know it’s thematically similar, Ingrid seems less like it fits with the rest of your choices. Still, I think it’s a fundamentally lovely name if you like it. Otherwise, Ramona? Paloma? Even Lucinda, which I think fits time and age, and is beautiful without being unduly fancy?